Manziel enhances rebellious image with latest tweet

File- This Dec. 8, 2012 file photo shows Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel smiling as he talks to reporters after becoming the first freshman to win college footballs Heisman Trophy in New York. Manziel still has three years of eligibility left at Texas A&M. But a tweet he sent out early Sunday morning has some wondering how long he'll stay. Starting the tweet with an expletive, Manziel's said stuff "like tonight is why I can't wait to leave college station... whenever it may be." The comment went out to Manziel's more than 350,000 followers from his verified account before it was deleted almost immediately. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File) less

File- This Dec. 8, 2012 file photo shows Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel smiling as he talks to reporters after becoming the first freshman to win college footballs Heisman Trophy in New York. Manziel ... more

Photo: Henny Ray Abrams, FRE

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Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel answers questions about his relationship with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury during Manziel's first press conference, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012, in the Bright Football Complex on the Texas A&M campus in College Station. Manziel is a candidate for the Heisman Trophy. ( Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle )

"If you don't recruit well you won't be coaching very long," Sumlin said recently. "I tell our guys all of the time that coaching matters, but players make a difference. In order to have a really strong program, you've got to have both. That's why recruiting is such a big deal around here."

That's also why a Twitter post by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel in the wee hours of Sunday morning is troubling to A&M's long-term recruiting efforts: "(Expletive) like tonight is a reason why I can't wait to leave college station…whenever it may be."

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5 questionable tweets by Manziel

Nov. 14, 2012: "Listening to this Texas Country music makes me miss the Hill Country more and more. There really is nothing like it!" (From a concert while efforts were under way to locate then-missing teammate Thomas Johnson, who was found safe the next day in Dallas).

Jan. 5: "Nothing illegal about being 18& in a casino and winning money...KEEP HATING!" (From Oklahoma casino after flashing cash in a Twitter picture).

April 16: "NO NEW FRIENDS NO NO NO NO." (From a tune by his celebrity mentor, Drake).

June 16: "(Expletive) like tonight is a reason why I can't wait to leave college station…whenever it may be." (He didn't explain what frustrated him so).

That line will be used for years to come against the Aggies, who are excelling early on the recruiting front entering Sumlin's second season. Manziel or someone else quickly removed the post, and he followed with, "Don't ever forget that I love A&M with all of my heart, but please please walk a day in my shoes."

But the damage was done, and Manziel had stuck his sizable shoe in his mouth - or more accurately his fingers to his smart phone. The initial tweet, too, provided loads of summertime fodder for talk shows and blogs across the land in the two days since. Perhaps, amid an avalanche of advice/scolding, radio host Mike Rhyner on KTCK (1310 AM in Dallas) provided the sagest reminder.

Amen, and A&M was quiet Monday concerning the "can't wait to leave college station" sentiment - a spokesman said he didn't anticipate an official response - and so was Manziel. Speculation, then, ran rampant on what prompted Manziel's annoyed emotion toward his college town, but nothing concrete emerged.

Longhorn stirs the pot

Meanwhile, Texas receiver Cayleb Jones, a close friend of Manziel, hopped in the fray Monday by posting on Twitter, "aTm without Johnny is just aTm again." That touched off a whole new round of angst among Aggies and Longhorns in the hot summertime, when fans don't have actual football to watch in releasing their aggressions.

Manziel redshirted his first season under then-coach Mike Sherman, and a year later became the first freshman to win the Heisman in leading A&M to an 11-2 record in its first year in the Southeastern Conference. The 20-year-old who comes from a wealthy family (partly evidenced by proud Manziel Twitter posts) is eligible for the NFL draft following this season and expected to take full advantage of such eligibility.

Arrested a year ago

Sumlin, Manziel's father and other leaders in his life have tried reining in his off-field activities - remember, he was arrested in College Station a year ago this month for fighting, failing to identify himself and producing two fake IDs - with some luck (he at least hasn't been arrested again, as far as we know).

But a big part of what makes Manziel successful on the field, his freelancing and untamed scrambling, carries over to late nights in Aggieland and elsewhere.

"Handling SUCCESS is as tough as handling failure," ESPN basketball analyst Dick Vitale offered to Manziel via Twitter on Monday. "EMBRACE IT – make Good Decisions & (you) will be cool."

Certainly, despite the longtime negative impact of Manziel's tweet on A&M, the gunslinger who was simply fighting for a starting spot last summer has done more for A&M's exposure (and pocketbook) than A&M will have ever done for him, even in the all-important realm of recruiting.

It's just that one area - Manziel's rebellious side off the field - A&M wishes it could harness. Based on his defiant actions since his arrest a year ago and even since winning the Heisman in December, there's only one thing clear in the murkiness surrounding his latest divisive tweet: Good luck with that.